Golden Age
by Arctic Jessie
Summary: 'By the time Lily looks up, Jane Potter's leaning over the edge at the top, her mouth upturned. Her head is thrown back in laughter, her short black hair swinging carelessly around her shoulders. Her nose scrunches as she laughs at Lily, and her cheeks flush pink, and it must be the light of a nearby lamp, but Lily's suddenly mesmerised, though she know she won't admit it.' AU.
1. And I built a home for you (and me)

**AN:** _I'm pretty excited, to be honest. AU that follows the Marauders' seventh year at Hogwarts, but James is actually female. Uh, the plot credit basis goes to 'lesbianladydi' on tumblr/ 'fabiansgoldwatch' on here, but I'll copy and paste the original post again: 'au in which james is female (jane because why not) and she's the leader of the mostly male (¾) marauders and she is like the baddest mama bear around and everyone kind of assumes that she's got something going on with sirius but like no she's 100% gay and 100% in love with lily evans'._

* * *

 **Chapter 1 (Prologue) - And I built a home for you (and me)**

* * *

Lily Evans is five when she decides Tuney is her best friend and they were never going to part. She doesn't mind when her sister makes her do things she doesn't want to do, because it's nice to have a role model and it's nice to rely on someone.

She's ten when Severus, the boy nearby that her sister is always sneering at, tells her she's a witch. She's offended, and thinks he's weird, at first. But he's nice to her and makes her smile, and he's there for her that time Tuney threw her favourite doll in the bin because Lily changed the hair colour without touching it.

She's eleven when she loses Tuney on the platform to a make-believe world, and it's like their relationship is hanging on a loose thread that the latter is trying to cut.

She's almost twelve when she meets an immature girl called Jane. It's the same age she finds another best friend for the first time since Tuney and Severus, and the stark contrast makes her smile.

She's thirteen when she finds it in herself to give 'the Marauders' a chance, and, actually, they're not half-bad as friends. It's been a long time since she's able to feel like she can actually belong.

She's fourteen when she spends Valentine's Day locked in her dormitory with Mary, Dorcas and Marlene after a particularly bad break-up. It's the day she confesses that she was attracted to Anya Patil, just as much as Gilderoy Lockhart. Mary bursts out laughing in relief and high-fives her, the words 'thank God, me too-' spilling out of her mouth.

She's just turned fifteen by a few months, and there's a massive row over something or another, and it tears her circle of friends in half. It makes her angrier than she has been in a long time, and it's the same year her father dies.

She's still fifteen when she loses another important person of her life, and she probably should have seen it coming, but she cries until one in the morning on Mary's bed, knowing that the broken friendship was damaged long before she had tried to fix it anyway.

She's sixteen and, suddenly, the war becomes very real. The death toll is rising, more kidnaps, and she thinks it's time to say sorry and build bridges over things that life could easily rip away from them. It's the eight of them again, the stupid group of reckless Gryffindors against the world.

She's seventeen and Headgirl, yet she feels like twelve when she dissolves into blushes and stammering in front of a girl she never thought she'd fall for, and there's a ridiculous smile on her lips every time she talks to her.

She's eighteen when she finds herself in love, and it's scary and exciting, but she thinks she likes it.

* * *

Jane Potter is six when she realises that she lives in a happy household, that her mother and father love her with an undying passion and she thinks that how it should be.

She's seven when she sees families of other Purebloods with unhappy children and it's then she finds out that the world isn't like that, how she's one of the lucky ones.

She's eleven when she doesn't find one brother, but three, on the way to Hogwarts. Her parents have always been able to provide her with almost anything other than this, and she decides that she's never going to let any of them go.

She's still eleven when she looks at a redhead girl with the eyes of broken glass, and she doesn't know what she feels her for her yet, but it's something.

She's barely twelve when she learns one of her best friends was a werewolf. She spends the next three years secretly learning to be an Animagus because, law be damned, nothing would tear the Marauders apart.

She's fifteen when an argument spills over, but her pride has always been a flaw in her person. It takes a few months for her to work up the sense to apologise, but she's turned away and she's hurt. It's the year she asks out Lily Evans in a moment of desperation, after barely a year of a crush, but her stubbornness makes her scoff and it hurts a little more than before.

She's sixteen when the same girl apologises to her, a mumbled apology that ends up turning into a half-hour long speech. When she looks at the taller girl expectantly, there's a big grin on Jane's face as she hugs her, and things almost go back to normal after that.

She's seventeen by a few months when someone starts up the rumour again that she and Sirius have something going on, and some of her friend are indignant on her behalf, but the rest of the Marauders and herself find it ridiculously funny.

She's seventeen when she falls head-first into love, and she thinks it should be terrifying to care about someone this much, but she realises she's been doing it for years.


	2. The crown lies heavy (on either side)

**AN:** _This is a much longer chapter than the prologue, and I hope you enjoy it more! I'm aiming for most chapters to be around this length. Thank you again to lesbianladydi on tumblr for letting me use this plot!_

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - The crown lies heavy (on either side)**

* * *

The screech of the train whistle is only second to rival with a mother's voice as she shouts at the two teenagers darting through the crowd with their trunks in tow. Various greetings are called out towards the two seventh years, but the family deem only to ignore it as they say their last emotional -

"Jane Potter, Sirius Black - if I get one more letter from Hogwarts telling me that you two have set fire to something in the Great Hall again, I will be pulling you both out!"

\- goodbyes.

"For Merlin's sake, it was only one time!" the girl says to her mother, but she's grinning and pushing her glasses up hastily with one hand whilst she uses the other to drag her trunk.

"Actually, there was a time when we -"

Her sharp elbow digs into the boy standing next to her, causing him to yelp in pain. "Shut up, Sirius. Anyway, we should probably get on the train."

Mrs. Potter drops her stern glare as she moves forward to plant a kiss on Jane's head. She lifts her hand to ruffle her daughter's already messy hair. "All right, I love you. It's your last year, have fun, yes? I'll see you at Christmas."

"Love you too," Jane leans down to give her mother a kiss on the cheek, who turns to Sirius waiting. He's staring at the family, before realising Mrs. Potter catching him looking, and quickly averts his eyes to the Hogwarts Express instead.

"You too, Sirius," the older woman tells him, and she beckons him forward to kiss him on the head too. "You're coming for Christmas, too, you hear?"

Sirius does his best to hide a smile as she pulls him into a hug. "You've already let me stay for so long -"

"Don't be silly, you come every year for Christmas." Mrs. Potter shakes her head at him. "Jane, drag him onto the train home for the holidays, if he won't come, okay?"

Her daughter responds with a thumbs up as she's glancing around the station.

"Thanks," Sirius says, and he pauses for a moment. Swallowing thickly, he lowers his voice slightly and says, "And thank you for letting me stay, you know, ever since I ran away..."

Mrs. Potter gave him a smile, pulling him into another hug, and she might've said something, but the whistle blew yet again. "Hurry up, you two, or you'll miss it!"

They only just manage to close the train door before it begins pulling away from the station.

"Oi, mate," Sirius says at the last moment, putting out a hand to stop Jane from walking down the corridor. "I just wanted to say thanks to you for letting me stay as well."

"Don't be silly," she scoffs, echoing her mother only moments before. "You're my best mate. Of course I let you stay." She slugs an arm around him, pulling him along. "C'mon, let's see where Moony and Wormtail are. I was looking for them at the station, but I couldn't see them anywhere."

"They must've gotten on the train already," Sirius says, and they both made their way down the corridor.

The first compartment they check only contains two third-years, whose eyes widen at the sight of the Gryffindor seventh years and hastily make up excuses as they run out of the compartment and down the corridor. Sirius catches one of them on the way out to ask if they're going to return to the compartment, to which the younger girl promptly blushes and stammers out they can take the compartment.

"You terrified them," Jane tells him with a pointed glance as they store their trunks.

"I didn't do anything," Sirius disagrees, flinging himself into the seat once he's done. "I asked if they were going to use it."

She rolls her eyes. "You know they were going to give it to you when you asked."

"So?"

Jane flicks him instead. "I thought we were going to look around for Moony and Wormtail?"

"But I just sat down," Sirius whines, yet he stands up, throwing over his shoulder, "You just want to see if Evans is around."

Jane pretends she doesn't hear him, pushing him forwards as they make their way down the corridor.

"You know she's Headgirl this year?" Sirius says, clearly not letting it go, despite the fact they've talked about it before. "McKinnon told me when we were in Diagon Alley."

"I wonder who's Headboy this year," she says, ignoring his attempts to redirect the conversation. "Not Moony, we would've known. That rules out our Gryffindor prefect. - Oh, Merlin, if it's Snape, I'll vomit. Literally."

Whilst her face takes a look of horror, Sirius scowls at the mention of him. "It's not Snape. Apparently, it's Bertram Aubrey."

"Who?"

"Ravenclaw prefect. You know, the bloke we hexed in fifth year and got double detention for."

"Oh, Bighead," Jane nods in recognition. "Still, at least it's not Snape." She pauses outside one of the compartments, pushing at it to open. "Oi, has any of you seen Remus Lupin or Peter Pettigrew?"

The group of fifth year Ravenclaws inside all shake their heads, and Jane closes the door again. They check in a few compartments, filled with people they don't particularly know; excitable first years, gossiping third years Gryffindors. It's the fourth compartment they're about to check when Sirius stops, his face blanching.

"Regulus is in that compartment," he tells Jane when she gives him a questioning look. "I can hear his git friend Avery from a mile away."

She grimaces. "We can miss this compartment out. I doubt they'd give us remotely helpful information anyway."

"No, let's ask anyway," Sirius says - and it only takes his best friend a moment to understand his need to check up on his brother, without wanting to admit it. She remembers the night Sirius turned up on their doorstep, and telling her that he tried to get Regulus to leave too.

With a shrug, she lets him push open the door, effectively halting the three Slytherins' conversation.

"What do you want?" Avery spits out, casting a look from Regulus to Sirius.

"None of your concern," Sirius replies, equally coolly. He glances at his younger brother instead. "Don't suppose any of you have seen Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, have you?"

"Why would we care where any of you blood traitors are?"

Jane realises only a second too late that Sirius is also looking to pick a fight with Slytherins. It's the receding bitterness in his voice that could be heard, the look of hatred in his eyes. It's the knowledge of the abandonment he feels from his former family, bleeding out with his feelings right out in front of them. Regulus Black stares out of the window, refusing to pay any of them attention.

"Use that word again, I dare you," Sirius says threateningly, and he takes a step forward towards Avery.

"Padfoot," Jane says loudly, catching her friend by the arm.

Sirius ignores her.

"Can't handle the truth, can you?" Avery taunts, and his fingers are already twirling his wand. "I heard your family finally managed to rid themselves of you." As if to emphasise his point, he gives a pointed look towards Regulus.

Sirius makes the noise of an angry cat, and jerks his arm out of Jane's grasp, just as the latter shouts, "Oi!"

There's a flurry of movement next, the sight of so many things happening at once that it leads to ultimate confusion. Avery jumps to his feet when he sees Sirius advancing towards him without so much of his wand in his hand, arms raised to punch him instead, and Jane finds herself unable to decide whether to help him or hinder him. In the end, she makes a half-hearted attempt to stop Sirius, before standing in front of the last member of the compartment that isn't Regulus or Avery. The remaining member, who has yet to say a word, leaps to her feet to help her friend, but finds herself promptly blocked by the towering figure of Jane instead. Regulus' eyes finally leave the window, and is staring at the scene unfolding, before there is a bang - to which they all ducked out of instinct, wands flying in the direction of the door.

A redhaired witch, one of her hands outstretched to catch the wands and the other raising her own, stands at the half-opened door. She's wearing Muggle jeans and a t-shirt, though a gleaming Headgirl badge sits proudly on her chest. She opens her mouth, and for a moment they think she's about to scream, but she gives a low sigh instead.

"Potter, Black, are you fighting before we reach Hogwarts already?" Lily Evans says wearily. Behind her, two other boys dart forward into the compartment, grabbing Sirius and Jane by the arm to pull them out.

The immediate shock finally wears off around the compartment, and Avery sneers. He takes a step forward towards her, looking as if he'd willingly fight her to regain his wand from her. "Give me back my wand, Mudblood."

Jane opens her mouth indignantly, pulling away slightly from Peter Pettigrew who has her arm, and another "Oi!" falls out.

"Are you, a sixth year, really going to try and challenge a Headgirl?" Lily says, with her eyebrows raised. She throws a wand at him carelessly, turning back to the Marauders behind her.

"We didn't fight because, technically, no one actually hit or hexed anyone," Jane says with a scowl.

"Yet," Sirius adds under his breath.

"Then no points are allowed to be deducted. Good. It would have been annoying if I had to deduct points within the first few hours of being Headgirl." Lily moves so she can close the compartment door, sweeping her eyes over the Slytherins as it closes. "Well, this is a not-so-pleasant greeting after six weeks of not seeing each other."

"We saw each other in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago," Jane points out.

Lily looks mildly surprised. "Yes, I suppose we did. I forgot about that. What were you two doing picking fights with Slytherins, anyway?"

Jane gives a sideways glance at Sirius, who still seems to be moderately mad as he's scowling at the compartment door. He turns to look at Remus and Peter. "Actually, we were looking for you two. Where've you guys been?"

"Looking for you," Remus replies, and Jane realises suddenly that the boy looks far too pale. He looks as if he's about to say something, but Lily is listening to the conversation in interest, and he closes his mouth instead.

"We must've walked right past each other, then," Peter jumps in quickly, his voice light.

Lily's still looking at them curiously, but the conversation has fizzled out remarkably awkwardly, so she says to Jane, "I was in the compartment with the other girls before I passed here for the toilet. D'you want to say hi? Mary was wondering where you were." She flicks a glance to Sirius, as well. "Marlene'll want you to stop by as well, Black."

Sirius' eyebrows raise, and she's hastening to add, "Don't tell her I told you that."

Lily slips past them, her red hair bouncing behind her, as she makes her way back down the corridor. Remus and Peter both tilt their heads as if to figure out whether to follow her or not, but Sirius shrugs and walks. Peter scrambles to catch up with the taller boy, his short legs moving considerably fast to keep up the pace, until he manages to keep his strides with Sirius'. Jane hesitates first, unsure what's keeping her from going with them, but she notices Remus waiting for her, so she begins to walk too.

"Are you all right?" Jane says quietly to him, making sure they're not overheard. As they're passing underneath lamps, she can see how sickly he really looks.

He gives her a worn smile. "Full moon's in less than a week. You know how I get."

"You're sure you're all right, though?" she repeats and Remus rolls his eyes at her pestering, nodding.

"Wait," she tells him anyway, and she stops for a moment to rummage through her pockets, before handing him something. "I knew I had a chocolate frog left. Eat this until the trolley comes around."

Remus rolls his eyes again, saying sarcastically, "Yes, mother," but he takes the chocolate gratefully.

"Glad to know that you're dealing with your furry little problem," she says with a grin, and she slings her arm around him as they quicken their pace to keep up with the other three. Lily turns around as she hears them, her green eyes catching Jane's for a split second, before she continues her conversation with Peter. Almost subconsciously, Jane lifts a hand to run her hair back, messing it greatly, and she catches Remus smirking.

"What?" she says, her hand dropping with a scowl, and it's plain infuriating when he just shakes his head, still with a smirk swiped across his features.

"Lily?" a voice says as a compartment door to their right opens, and Mary's head pops out. "Oh, Dork, you are right. It is their voices."

"I told you, call me 'Dork' one more time and I'll throw something at you," a muffled voice says from inside.

"I'm not that loud," Lily scoffs.

"Please. We can hear your voice from the down the corridor."

She pulls a face and shoves Mary aside so she can enter the compartment, saying, "Oh, yeah, I bumped into these four on the way." She pushes the door open further to let the Jane and the other boys in, closing it firmly behind them once they all enter.

"Hey, Jane," Mary greets with a bright smile. "And you, Sirius, Remus, Peter."

"Stop being so bloody cheerful for a moment," Dorcas groans, and she puts her hands over her face as she's stretching over a whole side of seats, her head resting on another girl's lap. The other girl jiggles her thigh in attempt to move Dorcas, and flips the page of the Quidditch magazine she's reading.

"Let her be," Marlene McKinnon says, lowering her magazine to nod at the newcomers. "Have a good summer?"

"Why do we always have these stupid pleasantries?" Remus wonders aloud, sitting down in the seat Mary moved up to give him. "We all literally always end up seeing each other sometime during the summer anyway."

"Because it's polite," Mary points out.

"Don't ask me, I've been at Marlene's most of the time," Dorcas says from her space, not even bothering to move.

"No one was asking you," Lily says, and she lets out a soft 'oof!' as Mary suddenly plops herself onto her lap. "Well, guess that means you can take her seat then, Peter."

Peter looks up from where he's been lingering between the door and Remus, before sliding into the seat.

"What about me and Jane?" Sirius says, almost indignantly, eyeing up the seat Peter just took.

"Sit on the floor," Marlene advises. Jane and Sirius look at each other for a moment, then shrug their shoulders and take the rest of the floor space between them.

"Have you heard the new The Pixies album, Lupin?" Dorcas says suddenly, lifting her head up for a moment. Her eyes are sparkling, her eyebrows raised in interest.

"Not yet," Remus replies, and it sounds almost mournful. "I haven't had the chance."

"I don't know how you can listen to that rubbish," Sirius states, pulling a face. He nudges Jane up to give him more room, to which she promptly leans against his knees instead. "The Weird Sisters are so much better."

Dorcas lets out a hiss, that sounds disturbingly like an angry snake.

"Look what you've done," Marlene sighs. "How many times are we going to have this The Pixies versus The Weird Sisters argument?"

"Enough times until Black admits he's wrong," Dorcas sniffs.

And that's how they spend the next two hours, a jumble of limbs and playfully angry shouting.

The lunch trolley could be heard clattering about half an hour after they all seated themselves, and it's Jane who scrambles out to buy a whole pile, Peter offering to carry the lot back. She flat out refuses when everyone tries to pay her back.

Mary takes out a box of cupcakes from her trunk, nattering on about how her mother forced her to take them for her lunch, and she passes them around. Soon enough, it's just a mess of wrappers, a constant stream of the Aguamenti charm to put out imaginative games of Exploding Snap, and loud chattering.

It's nearly half past three when Lily checks her watch, the word 'shit' falling out of her mouth as she disentangles her legs from Mary and accidentally kicks Jane in an attempt to stand up.

"I almost forgot we had to patrol corridors, I think one of the professors wanted to see me too," she says, and her hands fiddle with her hair to pull it from the ponytail she hastily did.

Remus looks up from where he's having a conversation with Dorcas, having the decency to look ashamed also, "Right. I'll be going quickly, then." He sidesteps around Jane and Sirius' sprawling figures on the floor, and stands by the door to wait for Lily. They both exit.

Mary's leaning forward to continue her conversation she was having with Lily, to Peter, who seems to only vaguely know what she's talking about as he nods and listens to her constant stream of thought. Dorcas has thrown herself back onto Marlene's lap again, interjecting her opinion every now and then, finally causing her best friend to flick her in an attempt to shut her up.

"Oi, Sirius, I thought you told me that you'd poke around and help me find some new players for the team?" Jane says, prodding him in the knee to get his attention.

Sirius lets out a large groan, his head throwing back as he turns away from speaking to Marlene.

"If you don't, you'll have to actually play as a player," she reminds.

"I don't understand why you don't actually just play on the team," Mary chips in. "I mean, it's not as if you're bad at Quidditch or anything."

It's Peter who answers instead, his eyes rolling, "It's because he's lazy."

"I am not lazy!" Sirius huffs in indignation, and there's a loud snigger from Dorcas and Marlene. "I just prefer to stay on the sidelines, as a reserve. And the best cheerleader you'll be ever to find, thank you very much."

Marlene scuffs him on the head as she speaks to Jane instead. "How many players short are we this year?"

"Three," she answers immediately. "There's still you as Keeper, Charles Weasley as a beater. Oh, and Lara Singh told me earlier on during the holidays that she's also fine to still play Seeker, if I'm up for it. So, we're missing two Chasers and a Beater."

"Beaters are often one of the worse to find," Marlene says, pulling a face. "Mind you, at least it's not a Seeker. Gods, those are the worst. Hey," - an idea seemed to spark in her mind, and she turns to Sirius, a hopeful smile on her lips - "You wouldn't want to be our Beater - "

"Don't bother," Jane cuts across. "I ask him every year to try out, and he always says no."

"Ugh," Marlene mock-pouts, and pokes the girl on her lap, who's been feigning sleep. "Doe, you wouldn't want to -"

Dorcas' eyes are still closed as she mumbles, "Don't even think about finishing that question, McKinnon."

"You're a terrible friend," the taller girl says with a frown. Jane stifles a laugh.

There's a pause of silence, before Mary's voice breaks through, "Why are none of you asking Peter and I?"

"Because the last time I tried out for the team was third year, and I got knocked out by the Quaffle," Peter says with an awkward chuckle.

"Oh - I remember that!" Sirius says, sitting up. "That was -"

"What about me?" Mary interrupts, sounding rather offended.

Jane and Marlene exchange looks, which leads to a brief stare-off. After a while, it's Marlene who breaks it off, especially once Dorcas starts to answer.

"Well, it's because you -"

"C'mon, Mare," Marlene says, loudly over Dorcas. Her elbow buries itself in her best friend's rib. "Even you know that you're not exactly the most talented at Quidditch. Remember first year flying?"

"First year flying was a long time ago," says Mary, and she still sounds slightly miffed.

"Don't be such a baby," Dorcas rolls her eyes. "I know you're bad at Quidditch, you know you're bad at Quidditch, I'm pretty sure most of our year knows you're bad at Quidditch."

Mary folds her arm over her chest, a sign that shows just how upset she was getting. Whilst the girl was one of the optimistic they would probably meet, the remaining Marauders had been friends with her long enough to know how drastic her mood swings could be.

"Well, I'll just be -" Jane's eyes flicker to the door, which Sirius is already opening and walking out of, without so much of an excuse. Peter mouths an apology over at Dorcas, who in turn calls them cowards, as the three rush out of the compartment.

"Oh, Mare, Doe didn't mean it like that," Jane hears Marlene say before the door slides shut behind her. "You're great at so much other stuff -"

The three Marauders hurry towards the compartment Jane and Sirius had previously dumped their things in, settling in the seats there instead. They spend the next few hours not doing much, other than an enthusiastic game of wizard chess, which ended with Peter notoriously winning and Sirius lowkey sulking for the rest of the journey.

* * *

It's when the Hogwarts Express finally chugs to a stop do they meet up with the other girls again. Jane had told Remus about the issue that made them leave them in the first place and, whilst Remus frowned at them, it was clear that he was almost relieved at the idea of not having to deal with their friend in such a state, anyway.

Jane feels a flick on her head as she's walking towards a carriage, and turns to see Marlene glaring at her.

"Thanks for leaving me to deal with an emotional Mary and a no-filter-to-her-mouth Doe," she tells her and all Jane can do is give her a sheepish smile. Jane looks around for Sirius, but he's already searching for a carriage with Peter. Her eye catches Lily's, who seems to be holding a vivid conversation with Dorcas, and the redhead gives her a nod before turning away again. Marlene catches this exchange and hides a smile, the same one Remus gave on the train, and Jane shoves her.

"What?" Jane repeats as she did to her other friend, and Marlene shakes her head. She links their arms, following the same direction of Sirius and Peter, who finally seems to have found a carriage.

Just as Marlene's getting on ahead of Jane, they hear a small shriek.

"What's that?" a girl with a Hufflepuff tie says in a terrified voice, her finger pointing at the head of a carriage. Her other arm is clutching her friend's, who seems to be trying to inch away from her.

"What?" her friend says, looking in the same direction. The close knot of people around them follow their gazes. Jane's face whitens as she understands. "What are you looking at, Susie?"

"That - that thing pulling the carriages," the first girl replies, and her finger is shaking.

Jane leaves Marlene's side to seek out Lily. She grabs her arm, who is also watching the scene in slight confusion.

"Threstals," Jane says, slightly breathless. "Can only see them if you've seen someone die, remember? Go - go tell her."

Lily still seems to be in slight shock, but in a few moments, she has managed to have put on her Headgirl front again, and she moves towards the girl.

"Hey," Lily touches the girl's arm, who almost jumps in fright. She realises she can't be much older than a fourth year. "It's all right. They're harmless, see? They're only there to pull the carriages along."

"But what are they?" the girl says, and she lets Lily pull her gently away from the growing crowd.

"They're called Threstals. I don't suppose you've learnt it yet, have you? They..." Jane hears Lily's kind voice trail off as they move further away, and she rejoins Marlene still standing at the door of the carriage. Sirius' head has popped out to see what the commotion all is.

"Threstals?" Sirius says, once they four of them are seated inside and begin moving.

Jane nods. Every year, more and more whispers are heard about the seemingly invisible creatures. It's the first time, though, that there's been a public scene caused by it.

"I still can't see them," Peter mumbles. Sirius levels him with a look, to which he quickly amends, "Not that I want to. I was just saying."

"More people are seeing it nowadays, aren't they? It wasn't only that Puff, I saw so many others seeing it for the first time. You can tell by their faces," Marlene says, almost flippantly. The rest of the words hang in the air: more Death Eater casualties.

"Well, that turned morbid fast," Sirius says over the silence, and it probably sounds insensitive to anyone who didn't know him, but his friends in the carriage understand better. "Did anyone see Hagrid?"

Jane frowns. "Actually, no. But he must've taken the first years up already. We'll say hi at dinner."

It's chatter about nothing that fills the carriage as it's brought to a halt at the gates of the castle. As a four, they hurry up the stairs, eager to move out of the sharp coldness of September that stings against their skin.

Lily catches up with them as they're about to enter the Great Hall, a miserable look on her face.

"The girl's mum," Lily tells Jane when she moves forward. Her voice and expression tells how upset she is. "She saw her mum die from some Dark Magic in St. Mungo's over the summer holidays."

Jane opens her mouth to ask something, but Lily seems to know what the question is going to be.

"Yeah, her mum was Muggleborn," she says. Jane looks at her for a moment, and she isn't surprised to hear anger mixed laced in her voice.

The two walk in silence behind Marlene, Sirius and Peter, until they sit themselves down at a far end of the Gryffindor table. A cough at the front of the Great Hall silences the students, and Professor McGonagall places the Sorting Hat onto the stool. There's the usual line of terrified first years, their owlish eyes scanning the Hall in wonder, and the pang of nostalgia hits Jane again, like it does every year.

* * *

"You're not sneaking into the boys' dorms tonight, are you?"

Marlene's sitting at the end of Jane's bed, the latter lying with her head on her pillow. Two beds away, Dorcas is painting her nails and Mary, who seems reasonably happier in the hours since the train, is pulling things out of her trunk to fold into piles.

Jane kicks Marlene, sticking her tongue out at her. "Yeah, because you so didn't sneak into Sirius' bed throughout last year."

Ignoring Dorcas' guffaws, Marlene pulls a face. "Oi, it was a genuine question. I didn't suggest that you were going to sleep with any of them, you always go there anyway."

"I don't know. Seven years, and I'm still wondering why you haven't jumped Lupin," Dorcas says casually.

Jane catches Marlene's eye, and they both erupt into fits of laughter.

"What?" demands Dorcas. "I'm just saying, you hang around them so often, it's a wonder why you haven't."

"Honestly, if we're going to place bets on who Jane's going to sleep with out of those three, I'm putting my money on Sirius," Mary says from her space on the floor, rolling socks up. "Sorry, Mar."

Jane and Marlene laugh harder than ever, and the whole bed is shaking from their moving. Dorcas and Mary look at each other, a brief and rare bond forming as their confusion unite them together.

"What's so funny?" Lily says, coming out of the bathroom with a towel around her head. She begins drying her hair by hand, just as Marlene's gasps are audible as she chokes on her own laughter.

"No clue, ask them." Dorcas blows on her nails, nodding over to Jane's bed.

Jane shakes her head, wiping tears from her eyes, and stands up. "Never - never mind. I'm using the bathroom next, by the way." Before any of them could disagree, she grabs her things and walks into the bathroom, still chuckling slightly.

The three girls turn to Marlene instead, eyebrows raised. The dark-haired girl only shrugs as she moves towards her own bed. "It was just a private joke Jane told me a while ago. It reminded us of it."

They don't miss the grin she tries to hide as she ducks her head to reach her trunk.


End file.
